Alexandros Kassidiaris
(Security Analyst, Postgraduate from the Department of War Studies, King's College London, UK)
Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 24 October 2015
The phenomenon of piracy attacks in the Horn of Africa against commercial vessels by mostly Somali-based pirates is not a new one. From 2008 to 2012 this kind of assaults presented an excessive incline creating a major problem for international commercial shipping in this part of East Africa and onwards. The continuous instability in this area and the strong feeling of insecurity and anxiety of the seafarers sailing through this route and especially in the Gulf of Aden created a certain necessity for some official anti-piracy action. Under those circumstances a specific region has been characterized as the Piracy High Risk Area and detailed instructions have been issued for the ships that would approach it.... Read more